Mark Cuban wants to 'put the fear of God' into Elon Musk

Mark Cuban saw a way to compete with fellow billionaire Elon Musk when Catlin Powers walked into the Shark Tank with Solsource, a solar-powered grill. “Our classic Solsource model is fast, powerful, and durable,” Powers said. “It heats up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit in seconds and can cook a meal in just 10 minutes.”

Powers was asking for $500,000 for just 3% of her company, and that had many of the sharks swimming away from what they thought was just a fancy grill company. But Powers was only beginning to stoke the fire of Cuban’s curiosity. She told the sharks, “Our next product is a solar battery system. It stores energy in organic molecules over multiple days at a time, a lot like plants do. It’s a natural biomimicry system, and that system will allow us to cook at night and also cook indoors.”

The idea of a new solar-powered battery had Cuban salivating over the technology’s immense possibilities. “Do you think that you can put the fear of God in Elon Musk and put them out of business?” Cuban asked her. Powers replied, “Yes, I think we have the potential to do that.” Once Powers told him that the solar battery system could apply to cars, Cuban was with her. He offered her $500,000 for 5% of the company, and Powers countered with $500,00 for 4% and a seat on the board. Cuban immediately accepted. Now it’s just a matter of time before Cuban launches a Solsource grill into outer space.

Shark Tank airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of Shark Tank for free on Yahoo View.